Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas Charlotte show canceled over HB2

Nick Jonas, left, and Demi Lovato announced that their Charlotte, Raleigh tour stops were canceled because of HB2 Monday. John ShearerAP

Nick Jonas, left, and Demi Lovato announced that their Charlotte, Raleigh tour stops were canceled because of HB2 Monday. John ShearerAP

Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas have become the latest entertainers to cancel North Carolina concerts over the state’s controversial HB2 law.

Lovato and Jonas posted a joint letter on Twitter Monday saying that, after deliberation, they were canceling a July 2 concert in Raleigh and a June 30 concert at Charlotte’s Time Warner Cable Arena.

“One of our goals for the tour has always been to create an atmosphere where every single attendee feels equal, included, and accepted for who they are,” the post said.

“North Carolina’s discriminatory HB2 law is extremely disappointing, and it takes away some of the LGBT community’s most basic rights and protections. But we will not allow this to stop us from continuing to make progress for equality and acceptance.

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“We know the cancellation of these shows is disappointing to our fans, but we trust that you will stand united with us against this hateful law.”

Bruce Springsteen and Ringo Starr were the first to cancel concerts in the state over the law, which was debated and passed in one day last month by the General Assembly.

The law nullified local ordinances around the state that would have expanded protections for the LGBT community. That included an ordinance in Charlotte that protected the rights of transgender people who use public restrooms based on their gender identity.

North Carolina repealed HB2 in 2017 but left intact some of its provisions. But with Charlotte’s reputation tainted, the city is still paying to market itself to visitors.

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HB2 also specified a statewide definition of classes of people who are protected against discrimination, leaving out LGBT people. Protected classes under HB2 include race, religion, color, national origin, age, handicap or biological sex as designated on a person’s birth certificate.

Sexual orientation – people who are gay – was never explicitly protected under state law and is not now, despite recent court decisions that legalized same-sex marriage.

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